Cadillac Unveils CTS-V Black Diamond Edition

You thought the Cadillac CTS-V was bad-ass? You're right, but the CTS-V Black Diamond is bad-asser. Or, as Cadillac puts it, it's a "finely crafted, tailored tuxedo." We like our description better.

No, you don't get any performance enhancements in the Black Diamond, but then, you don't really need any. The 556-horsepower supercharged LSA V-8 under the hood is more than up to any task. But now its sheetmetal looks like a professional assassin's car. And it's from the factory.

The reason for the Black Diamond name? This is the first use of high-tech optical technology firm JDSU's proprietary SpectraFlair pigment by any carmaker in North America. So what is this special paint? It's a tri-coat job with embedded SpectraFlair Bright Silver pigment, which Cadillac says gives "added dimension" to the finish, unlike other metallic paints.

SpectraFlair isn't some kind of Office Space joke, either. It's made of aluminum flakes encapsulated in magnesium fluoride, a "glass-like substance." It gives the paint a special sparkle.

So it's a special paint job with some added flair. What's so special? This marks a serious attempt by Cadillac to do something along the lines of Mercedes-Benz's Designo option sheet, or BMW's Individual, and could spell a serious run at becoming a truly world-class luxury brand known not just for good quality, excellent performance, and unbeatable prices, but for truly over-the-top style.

Pricing starts at $69,190 for the manual or $70,490 for the automatic, a $4,850 premium over the CTS-V base price.

Check out the gallery above, then watch the video below for the official walk-through.